Sun Ridge Systems Introduces Support for E911 Phase II

EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. - The streets have just gotten safer, emergency providers have gained a new tool to speed response, and Sun Ridge Systems has created the software to support the second phase of Enhanced 911 (E911).

E911 Phase II allows emergency dispatchers to locate precisely where 911 cellular phone calls are coming from. The FCC requires mobile phone companies in the United States to offer either handset or network-based location detection capabilities so that the caller's location can be determined by the geographic location of the cellular phone with an accuracy of 50 to 100 meters. The previous phase of E911 only provided the location of the cellular tower transmitting the signal, within one mile of accuracy.

Sun Ridge Systems' advanced RIMS technology immediately captures the information from an E911 system and plots the transmitted geographical coordinates on a map to pinpoint the location of the call. A circle is drawn on the map, with the center indicating the caller's location and the radius representing the level of uncertainty. For a quicker response time, RIMS Mobile Mapping plots the same information for officers and emergency response teams in the field.

Last month the Martinez (CA) Police Department became one of the first agencies to go live with the new technology, and they are already impressed with its capabilities. "By being able to pinpoint where the call is coming from, this system not only allows us to react more quickly, but we can be much more accurate in deploying the closest emergency units to the scene," said Commander Mark Smith.

According to Tony Richards, president of Sun Ridge Systems, "Our E911 Phase II implementation is yet another way we've found to meaningfully enhance our products and at no additional cost to our users. Also, it is a good example of the tight integration of the RIMS product line as location information flows from the wireless provider to our E911 software to RIMS CAD to RIMS Mapping and on out to the field to Mobile RIMS and Mobile RIMS Mapping." The FCC established a four-year rollout schedule for Phase II to be completed by Dec. 31, 2005.